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Old 06-10-2022, 09:04 PM   #1
bsmith0404
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They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To

Recently I acquired a 1976 Holiday Rambler Presidential travel trailer. It had been sitting on. Permanent lot in the mountains under a snow cover car port for about 35 years. Obviously it needed some work before I could move it. After a few trips to pack wheel bearings, install new tires, get the brakes working and check over the wiring, I was able to bring it home yesterday. A couple things that really surprised me, the tail lights still worked, the brakes still worked, the bearings were in great shape, just needed to repack them. What really surprised me was how well it towed. For a 32’, 6k lb travel trailer that hadn’t been moved in over 35 years, it towed like a dream. It was actually the best towing trailer I have ever pulled. As a transporter, I pulled a lot of travel trailers this size. I had to bring it down out of the mountains for 20 miles and then another 60 miles down the highway. I started out slow and easy, stoping every 5-10 miles to check wheel bearing, brake, and tire temps. The final 45 miles were non stop at 65 mph. Had some cross winds yesterday and only felt it twitch one time. I was really impressed by this old beast.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:13 AM   #2
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Congratulations!
Pictures would be great.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:29 AM   #3
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Still have a lot of cleanup to do on it, but for a 46 year old trailer it’s in pretty good shape
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:31 AM   #4
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Here’s the pics again. I haven’t figured out when the site will rotate pics and when it won’t.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:35 AM   #5
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IIRC pics are loaded in Landscape orientation and that means the long dimension is horizontal and the short one is vertical.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:38 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by chuckster57 View Post
IIRC pics are loaded in Landscape orientation and that means the long dimension is horizontal and the short one is vertical.
Thanks. I may have caused a couple previous pics I uploaded to get rotated by cropping them. Didn’t know what was causing it, it just seemed random.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:41 AM   #7
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Looks really good for any age indeed!
I had a Gulf Stream with a fiberglass stone shield on the front window. Don’t recall seeing them used on rear windows though memory is not the best these days.
Is that a tri power refrigerator?
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:46 AM   #8
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Looks really good for any age indeed!
I had a Gulf Stream with a fiberglass stone shield on the front window. Don’t recall seeing them used on rear windows though memory is not the best these days.
Is that a tri power refrigerator?
To be honest, I haven’t looked at the fridge that close. I think it was swapped out for a residential at some point. The trailer was given to me in exchange for removing it from the lot and towing setting the new trailer in its place. Since the price was right, I didn’t go over it real well.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:48 AM   #9
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Thanks. I may have caused a couple previous pics I uploaded to get rotated by cropping them. Didn’t know what was causing it, it just seemed random.
It’s part of the picture’s data from the camera. When I’m on a Windows machine I simply use the snipping tool to crop and copy the pictures and then upload as attachments. If I’m going to upload to an album I open the photos in Gimp and then export to a folder as .jpgs.
Both activities rewrite the metadata of the picture, establishing which way is up - never a sideways pic, regardless of dimensions.
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Old 06-11-2022, 05:50 AM   #10
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To be honest, I haven’t looked at the fridge that close. I think it was swapped out for a residential at some point. The trailer was given to me in exchange for removing it from the lot and towing setting the new trailer in its place. Since the price was right, I didn’t go over it real well.
That would be a deal too good to pass up for sure.
What are your plans for it?
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Old 06-11-2022, 06:10 AM   #11
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After the running gear is squared away the first thing I'd do is replace the LP hoses. Don't trust rubber that old. Clean and cualk roof, windows, doors and hatches. Check all pliable gaskets and replace any dry rotted ones.. Don't forget the toilet seals and waste water valves. Check visible wire in the power distribution center for deterioration of the wire insulation and for corrosion. If you find any corrosion remove breakers (power off at pedestal) and inspect buss bars. If they are corroded replace breakers. At that age if it was connected to shore power all that time then the shore cable could have UV damage.
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Old 06-11-2022, 06:10 AM   #12
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Haven’t decided yet. I’m kind of torn between updating the interior or leaving it retro, and not sure if I want to keep it for family to stay in when they come visit instead of using my Alpine, selling it, or using it as a rental. The whole rv rental thing has really taken off lately, just not sure if people will appreciate an old Holiday Rambler. I really need to go through it and access what all it needs.
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Old 06-11-2022, 10:33 AM   #13
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I can't imagine renting anything to anyone. Too many friends have rented homes while they were overseas (i spent much of my career overseas) and the horror stories are still with me. Renting a trailer to someone vacationing gives me thoughts of wild booze parties. You may be OK but that is just my take.

We were on the verge of going to look at a Holiday Rambler Presidential. Lady didn't know the model and told us it was 32 feet or something similar. Given our home pad, I wouldn't want to go much more than that. The living room actually had a wall divider and the kitchen had a large L shaped counter into the cabin. Wife LOVED the design. The camper was about an hour from us and I insisted the lady check with her hubby on the actual model number. Turns out it was about 40' long and we wouldn't have been able to set it up on our property. That camper would have made a decent full time living camper. It wasn't as old as the the 60s vintage Smith bought and seemed to be in great shape.
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Old 06-11-2022, 10:49 AM   #14
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I took the pressure washer after it today. Cleaned up pretty hood for having probably 30+ years worth of build up. This was strictly hitting it just with the wand, didn’t get the soap and brush out yet. I was also happy to see that no water went inside around the windows and I was hitting them hard getting all the crud out of the channels.
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Old 06-11-2022, 10:51 AM   #15
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Haven’t touched the inside yet, still assessing everything on it. I need to go get a 30-50 Amp dog bone. I only have 50A connection at the house
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Old 06-11-2022, 10:53 AM   #16
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Dang it, didn’t realize I had changed the angle of my phone. BTW, this is a Presidential 3000 series 332

Edit. I had gone into the pics and rotated the orientation, thought that would work, but I guess the app I use for that on my phone doesn’t adjust the size for the new orientation like the program on my laptop does. Oh well, I tried
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Old 06-11-2022, 11:43 AM   #17
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I can't imagine renting anything to anyone. Too many friends have rented homes while they were overseas (i spent much of my career overseas) and the horror stories are still with me. Renting a trailer to someone vacationing gives me thoughts of wild booze parties. You may be OK but that is just my take.
.
Trust me I’m aware of that. I rented my house for 4 years when I was stationed at other locations. The first two years was an Army Sgt Maj. He took great care of the house and was never a problem. The last two years I rented to the guy that replaced him, 2 years, $10k in damage to the house. The last two years I was away, the house sat empty.

I also work on a guys trailer that does the rental program. I can’t remember what website he goes through, but the renters have to pay for a rental insurance. So far I’ve had to do repairs after each rental. The last time the guy left the rear stand down. Bent the shaft and twisted the frame on the electric stabs. Parts aren’t replaceable so a new set went in $600 in parts. The guy tried to claim the motor didn’t work….well that’s what the manual crank is for. It was laying right in the pass through
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